CREATE OR CREDIT - A CATHERINE GRACE INITIATIVE

Pros of the Internet:

Finding Catherine from Life, Styled most recent initiative Create or Credit (Read Series Here)

Cons of the Internet: 

Needing to have an initiative just for giving credit where it is due

Recently when I was scrolling through my instagram feed I saw Catherine's post series about her initiative Create or Credit. This instantly drew me in and it was easily my most favourite internet find of the month. She is so knowledgable on the topic so definitely go check out the series here to read more.

Now don't take this the wrong way, I love the internet and would be no way in the position I am today without it but there are some bad habits that it is responsible for. One of which being ignoring copyright content & lacking creditability and authenticity with a lot of it's content. 

Because I mostly work within Instagram I wanted to focus on this platform and it's need for #createorcredit. My first bone to pick is about creating original, authentic content for your accounts. I have noticed over the last year countless blogs & instagrams have blossomed on the use of the mix of their photos but majority of "inspo-esque" photos taken from tumblr or pinterest to enhance the appearance of the account.

Firstly - if you are on Instagram and you are holding a personal or business account I feel that your account should authentically represent you and content should be your own. If you want to have a photograph of coffee, flower markets, new shoes then take your own damn picture of it, don't wait for an aesthetically perfect image to appear on pinterest and upload that instead because it is more appealing. This only portrays an unauthentic version of your life/you and misleads those who are following you. Now I am not saying that my Instagram shows the nitty gritty of my day or reflects the less than average parts of it, but my content is always my own and I try really hard to keep it 100% authentically me. 

The next thing that happens when people use content that they have not created is they don't disclose this or credit the original owner of the content appropriately. Using the #inspo on a photograph that is not yours is not the same as giving credit. If you did find the photograph on pinterest/tumblr, follow the links back as far as you can to find the owner and if you still can't then just think is it really that important that I post this? 

I have also noticed a trend lately with instagram accounts using others photos and just tagging the owner of the photograph in it, but not mentioning it in the caption or anywhere else. This also does not count as giving credit. You are misleading your followers for the sake of keeping your feed "on point".

I have had whole instagram accounts be built around using only my photographs, I have had bloggers use my photographs and post them as their own and my work has been spread around without credit too many times to count. This may seem harmless and I am sure no harm is meant but this is how my work ends up being sold by companies without permission and how my work gets ripped off. Once those things are done it is very hard to fix it without spending thousands on lawyers. 

So I urge all of you to repost the #createorcredit artwork and spread Catherine's initiative around instagram. Also be sure to comment #createorcredit on images that you see others post without proper credits. 

I would also love to know where you guys stand on this, and if it bothers you when you see companies or people using others photographs without credit, or you think it's just how the internet is?

Be sure to check out www.catherineandgrace.com for more articles! 

jasmine x